Monthly Archives: April 2015

My lovely friend, Helly, is pregnant with her baby boy Fox. This weekend was her shower so I made her a few things. Cookies are required, so I made her a batch of Sal’s cookies. I wanted to make something else and she loves rosemary and I love lemon with rosemary making this recipe an easy decision.

I love this lotion. It’s full of all sorts of goodness that help remove free radicals, promotes collagen restoration, and helps with scars and stretch marks as well as ingredients to promote calmness and relaxation.

In a small pot, boil about a cup or two of water. Place a glass jar in the pot and in the jar, combine the grape seed oil and ginger, flowers, and buds. Lower heat to barely boiling and let sit for about 30 minutes to infuse the oil. Using a cheese cloth or mesh strainer, strain out the buds and put the oil in a new glass jar. Put the oil only jar into the pot and add butters. Stir occasionally and heat until melted through. Once melted, remove jar from heat. Allow it to cool and mix in lavender oil. Refrigerate until hardened and then mix thoroughly to give it a nice texture.

I usually make my ice cream with coconut milk, but wanted to try to switch that up a bit since I don’t always have coconut milk handy. I was please with how this came out but may try a little more creamer next time to thicken it up (or just be a bit more patient). Either due to my impatience or not enough creamer, this came out a bit more like a soft serve, which is in no way a complaint! Since I was just experimenting, I made a single serving recipe. This is easily doubled if you feel like sharing or just want more ice cream!
I used an ice cream machine. I keep the tub for my ice cream machine in the freezer at all times so it’s ready to go whenever I get the urge to make something.

Combine the almond milk, creamer, and salt in a pot and turn to medium heat. While that’s heating up, slice your vanilla bean. I scooped out a bit and mixed it in, and then cut the beans in half width wise and tossed them in the mix. That way I know I’m getting as much vanilla in there as I can. Stir until it begins to boil, then remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Set up your prepared ice cream machine. Pour mixture in and let it get to work! While mine was mixing away, I chopped and toasted a few walnuts and chopped up a couple Dandies vegan marshmallows. Once the ice cream mixture was starting to thicken, I tossed those in and waited. Patience is key with the ice cream making, so just try to keep busy while it’s thickening up!

Last night we decided we wanted a little sweet snack. I had suggested maybe some ice cream, we had coconut milk in the fridge and I could throw it in the ice cream maker with some vanilla bean, but that would take a bit. I mentioned cookies, and Sal asked what I could put in them. Thinking about it, I realized we not only had chocolate chips, but we also had walnuts and vegan marshmallows. The decision was made that a batch of cookies had to happen. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so everything got tossed into one bowl, mixed, baked, and I was pretty pleased with the results. Here’s the recipe for what I will call Sal’s Cookies since they were made with him in mind:

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 2 pans with parchment paper. Once at at least 100, place walnuts on one of the prepared pans and let sit in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Combine sugars, oil, milk, and mix well. Add tapioca flour and vanilla and mix. Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt. Once everything is well combined, fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and marshmallows.
Place tablespoons or spoonfuls of the cookie dough about an inch apart and bake for 15 minutes until they are lightly golden brown around the edge.
Let cool at least 10 minutes before eating and enjoy!

This week is my mom’s and my little brother’s birthdays! I was lucky enough to spend the day with my mom yesterday. Before going to see her though, I wanted to make something extra special for her. This recipe is the result, and it was delicious! My mom isn’t too big on sweets, so I halved this recipe to make the layers thin.

Directions:
Combine in a saucepan and cook until sugar is melted and raspberries have been broken down, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain to remove seeds. (I used a strainer and set it on top of a bowl while I did everything else, this gets it strained and lets it cool)

Beat shortening and margarine together until well combined. If you would like the frosting a bit stiffer, do a bit more shortening and a bit less margarine. Once combined and fluffy, add the sugar and beat thoroughly for several minutes. Add vanilla and almond milk and mix well for several more minutes until you have a delicious fluffy frosting. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

2 cups strawberries, stemmed&halved (I remove the stem by cutting it in a V at the top, it results in an almost heart shape)
1 1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/4 cup water
several dashes orange zest

Combine all in a bowl, and let marinate until you are ready to use them.
Apricot Glaze for berries:
1/2 c apricot preserves
1 tbsp water

Heat preserves and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat. Let cool until just slightly warm, and then brush the berries with it.

Assemble the cake! Frost the bottom layer, doing the sides a little bit higher up. Slowly add raspberry puree to the center of the cake, and spread it out with a spoon or spatula. Don’t feel obligated to use all of it, I saved some of mine for future use. Place the top layer on the bottom and frost the top and sides. Apply berries as you like! I alternated strawberry/blueberry around the bottom and then did blueberries all around the top edge, and then wrote out “MOM” in strawberries and blueberries on the top and trimmed one of the strawberry halves to look more heart shaped. I recommend placing berries in whatever way you prefer around the bottom. After that, you could a layer of berries covering the top, you could do a lovely cluster in the center, you could make a shape or write something, have fun with it!